A Clear Point Of View
Senior point guard Chrismen Oliver, a backup for each of his three seasons, will contend for starting role in his final year. Without question one of UC Santa Barbara's best ball-handlers and playmakers, Oliver will see significant playing time, whether as a starter or as a reserve.Walking Into A Key Role
Oliver is a fifth-year senior. In 2000-01, he walked-on to the UCSB team and was redshirted. The next year, as a freshman, he emerged late in the season as a sparkplug for a team that won the Big West Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Each of the last two seasons he has served as a part-time backup at the point. One game Oliver might play 20 minutes, the next he might play two. This year his role is more definitive and, in fact, could see him as a member of the starting lineup.Keeping The Defense Honest
It would be easy to pigeonhole Oliver exclusively as a playmaker. In fact, by reading the first two sections, it would be an easy conclusion to draw, but also a false one. True, Oliver's primary function has been, is and probably always will be to set-up his teammates. His job is to make the extra pass, to get the ball into the post, to deliver the ball into the hands of the 'scorers. Opponents have made that mistake and paid. Last year, Oliver made 14-of-37 shots from three-point range, 37.8%. After starting the season by making just 2-of-9, he drained 12-of-28, 42.9%. Oliver's 14 three-point baskets were the sixth highest total by a Gaucho last season. In his three seasons, he has made 27-of-69 three-point attempts, a figure that ranks among UCSB's all-time top-ten.Late Shots
Oliver attempted a total of 70 shots as a junior, 30 of which came during the season's final five games. In the final five games, Oliver played 83 minutes, averaging one shot every 2.8 minutes. In his first 21 games, he played 180 minutes and attempted 40 shots, an average of one shot ever 4.5 minutes. For the season, Oliver finished with an average of one shot every 3.8 minutes, a significant jump over average of one shot every 5.8 minutes.A Good Ratio
As a freshman, Oliver had 13 assists and 20 turnovers. Not a good ratio. In the past two seasons, however, that ratio has turned around. Combining his sophomore and junior campaigns, he has produced 84 assists and just 54 turnovers, an assist to turnover ratio of 1.6-to-1.0.Chrismen Oliver Notes2004-05
Chrismen Oliver is arguably the best playmaker on the UCSB team and he will be one of the Gauchos' regular point guards in his senior season...A very good passer, he also has good shooting range when left unguarded.2003-04
Oliver averaged 2.9 points and 1.3 assists in 26 games as a junior...He played a great deal at the beginning and end of the season, but in the middle of the year his minutes waned...Averaged 10.1 minutes per game overall, 15.2 per game in the first six games and 16.6 per game in the final five...Playing as a backup at the point, Oliver was sixth on the team with 35 total assists despite ranking tenth in minutes played...Tied his career-high with five assists in a win over Long Beach State...Had four assists in a win over Westmont...In all, he had two or more assists in 11 games...Oliver scored a career-high nine points in games against St. Mary's and Cal State Fullerton...Had six or more points seven times...Scored six or more points four times in the last five games and averaged 5.4 per game over that span...Oliver had 13 steals, including two apiece vs. Westmont and Cal State Northridge...After making 13 three-point baskets in his first two seasons, he drained 14 as a junior...Although Oliver never had more than two threes in any game, he did have two in four outings.2002-03
Oliver averaged 1.9 points and 1.6 assists per game...Although his 332 minutes was the ninth highest total on the team, his total of 49 assists on the year ranked fourth on the team...Oliver had a career-high five assists at Cal, at Cal State Fullerton and against UC Riverside...Overall, he had four or more assists five times and two or more 11 times...In addition to his five assists against Cal, he scored a career-high eight points...Also, in his five-assist performance against Cal State Fullerton, Oliver scored six points and had three steals against the Titans...Ranked sixth on the team in three-point baskets with nine, making a high of two at Cal...Oliver played 20 or more minutes three times, including a season-high of 21 against UC Riverside.2001-02
Oliver played in 15 games as a freshman...After playing a total of 19 minutes in the first 24 games of the season, he played 88 in the final seven, an average of 12.6 per game...Oliver averaged 2.3 points per game while shooting 48.0% from the field overall and 40.0% from three-point territory...Averaged 4.4 points in the final seven games...Scored a high of seven points in the first round of the Big West Tournament against Cal Poly...Had six point games at UC Irvine and against Arizona in the NCAA Tournament...Oliver made a pair of three-point baskets against Arizona...Had a high of two assists four times...Three of his six steals came in a win over Cal State Fullerton.2000-01
Redshirted the 2000-01 season.High School
Oliver played at St. Bernard's High School in Los Angeles...Averaged 12.0 points, 9.1 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game as a senior...He was a Second Team All-CIF selection and a First Team All-Del Rey League choice...Named team MVP after helping to lead St. Bernard's to the State Division 4 Finals...Scored a career-high 19 points in the state championship game against Tamapais HS...As a junior, he had his career-high of 12 assists against Washington Prep...Oliver produced seven steals in a game against Carson HS...Had five three-pointers in a game against Pioneer HS...St. Bernard's won the California Southern Section title during his senior season...Averaged 4.0 points and 3.0 assists as a junior...Played for Bob AlaniPersonal
Chrismen Robert Oliver was born August 21, 1982, in Los Angeles...Majoring in Communications at UCSB...His most memorable moment as an athlete came when his high school team lost a last-second game in the State Championship game...He was a four-year member of the Principal's Honor Roll in high school...A member of the National Honor Society, and the California Scholarship Federation...The son of Marsha White-Oliver.